Fly&Dinehttps://flyanddine.boardingarea.com
Where Miles and Calories Count EquallyThu, 26 Jul 2018 14:39:16 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.958767807How I Scored Free 2-for-1 Flights on Southwest for a Year (and you can, too!)https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/how-i-scored-free-flights-on-southwest-for-a-year/
https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/how-i-scored-free-flights-on-southwest-for-a-year/#commentsThu, 26 Jul 2018 14:39:16 +0000https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/?p=64609When I first heard about the Companion Pass from Southwest Airlines, I thought it was too good to be true. After all, how can any airline offer unlimited free flights for a companion for an entire year? I’d heard of limited two-for-one/BOGO (buy-one-get-one-free) deals before, but this unlimited thing was new to me. On top…

]]>When I first heard about the Companion Pass from Southwest Airlines, I thought it was too good to be true. After all, how can any airline offer unlimited free flights for a companion for an entire year? I’d heard of limited two-for-one/BOGO (buy-one-get-one-free) deals before, but this unlimited thing was new to me. On top of that, I was shocked to discover that Southwest was actually giving the Companion Pass away for free as an incentive to sign up for one of their Chase branded credit cards. So I dove in last November and I’m so glad I did.

While I’ve been enjoying free flights for my companion (aka my wife) this year, I’ve actually discovered the way to earn completely free flights for both me and my wife next year and you can, too.

With the credit card spend and bonuses, I already had 105,000 Rapid Rewards points. Another $5,000 in spending took me to 110,000 points, which automatically qualified me for a Companion Pass for next year.

“But that’s just a free flight for your companion!” I hear you screaming. It is. It’s also 110,000 points on top of the pass. I fly Southwest 4-5 times a year. As long as I plan my trips carefully and snag the very cheap Wanna Get Away fares — which can go for less than 3,500 points one-way — I can turn all of my points earned this year into free flights next year, thus achieving the rare feat of TOTALLY FREE FLIGHTS FOR ME AND A COMPANION ALL YEAR!

Now, the nitpickers reading this are probably shaking their heads because they think I have to pay taxes on those flights. HOWEVER, if I use my Chase Sapphire Reserve card to pay those taxes, I’ll get the fees credited back to my card as part of my $300 travel credit for the year. That means all of my flights, as well as those for my wife as my companion, will be totally free next year and I think that is totally awesome.

So, yeah, I definitely get a referral bonus if sign up for any of the cards I mentioned and linked to in this story. It’s a small gift to me for getting you free two-for-one flights for an entire year.

]]>https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/how-i-scored-free-flights-on-southwest-for-a-year/feed/7646097 Reasons to Visit: Live Like Gatsby at the Fairmont Grand Del Marhttps://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/live-like-gatsby-fairmont-grand-del-mar/
https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/live-like-gatsby-fairmont-grand-del-mar/#commentsWed, 02 May 2018 22:36:29 +0000https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/?p=64552In the first ever Fly&Dine “7 Reasons to Visit,” we head down to San Diego for a trip to the opulent Fairmont Grand Del Mar. There are luxury hotels that feel like a nice place to stay and there are luxury hotels that feel like you get to step into a fantasy life. The Fairmont…

]]>In the first ever Fly&Dine “7 Reasons to Visit,” we head down to San Diego for a trip to the opulent Fairmont Grand Del Mar.

There are luxury hotels that feel like a nice place to stay and there are luxury hotels that feel like you get to step into a fantasy life. The Fairmont Grand Del Mar is the latter type of property. It’s a luxury hotel that feels like a sprawling Mediterranean estate that you get to call home for the length of your stay. Your first steps into the Fairmont Grand Del Mar will feel like you’ve gone back in time to 1920s Palm Beach. You’ll be greeted by the always-friendly staff, but your best greeting comes courtesy of a stunning floral arrangement like this:

The palatial estate that doubles as the Fairmont Grand Del Mar sits just north of San Diego and only five miles from the beach. Immediately upon arrival, it’s clear that this place is something of an anomaly when it comes to San Diego hotels. There’s no aura of surfer chic here and despite being built just over ten years ago, the word modern doesn’t really apply. The Fairmont brand has a reputation for maintaining incredibly unique properties that exude high-class luxury and the Grand Del Mar is one of the jewels in their North American crown.

7 Reasons to Visit the Fairmont Grand Del Mar

1. 15 Stars

Most luxury hotels are thrilled to tell you that they’ve won the Five-Star award from the Forbes Travel Guide. The Fairmont Grand Del Mar has the rare honor of claiming THREE Five-Star awards for a total of fifteen stars in celebration of their lodging, spa, and on-site fine dining restaurant Addison. That’s nearly enough for its own constellation. There are only eight hotels in the United States to claim triple Five-Star status and the Fairmont Grand Del Mar is the first property in San Diego to ever garner such an impressive accomplishment.

2. The Gatsby Effect

Although the resort was built in 2007, it was designed to look like the creations of famed architect Addison Mizner, who set the standard for opulence with his Palm Beach and Boca Raton properties back in the 1920s. “The property was built to be a luxurious 5-star resort, no expense spared,” says Amy Tew, PR Manager of the resort. “[Builder Doug Manchester] wanted it to be an over-the-top gorgeous Mediterranean estate five miles from the beach in Carmel Valley, CA.” The result is a Mediterranean-influenced gem with an exotic mix of Spanish, Portuguese, Moroccan, and Venetian design features from architect Robert Altevers and interior designer Warren Sheets. With 1920s glam and global charm, you can’t help but feel like you’re in the middle of The Great Gatsby as you walk the grounds of the Grand Del Mar.

3. Naturally Gorgeous

Speaking of the grounds, this property is paradise for nature lovers. Nestled in Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve, the hotel sits in the middle of 4,100+ acres of verdant wonderland. With 37 miles of biking, hiking, walking, and horseback riding trails, there’s something for every type of outdoorsperson. If you’re a tree lover, you’ll enjoy the more than 10,000 mature trees on the property.

4. Relaxation with a View

There are 249 guest rooms on site and 31 of those are suites that start at 1,000 square feet. While the rooms themselves are extremely large (the standard rooms average 600 sq.ft.), it’s the views that make them so ideal. Every single room, suite or otherwise, has a “view of something green,” as Tew says. From gardens to canyons to the championship-caliber golf course, you may find yourself parked on your terrace just wondering how you got so lucky to be spending your day at the GDM.

5. Incomparable Dining

It seems like every major city has that one fine dining restaurant that serves as the go-to place for the biggest moments in people’s lives. In San Diego, that restaurant is Addison. Birthdays, anniversaries, engagements, and promotions are just a few of the reasons why it’s worth it to splurge at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar’s signature restaurant. Chef William Bradley is a giant in the San Diego dining scene and the French-inspired tasting menus and never-ending wine list are testaments to the magic that Bradley can work in the kitchen.

6. 18 Holes of Heaven

While your everyday Joe may not know Tom Fazio, any golf fan worth his spikes knows that Fazio creates some of the most legendary courses in the world. At the GDM, Fazio’s 18-hole masterpiece is only open to members of the club and guests of the hotel, which adds an element of sincere exclusivity to a day on the fairways.

7. Floral Fantasia

Brothers of the Bud, unite! Flower fans everywhere will cherish the gorgeous arrangements that can be found all over the Fairmont Grand Del Mar. The resort has a resident orchid caretaker on staff whose job it is to oversee the well-being of all of GDM’s orchids. To add to the bloomphoria, San Diego event planner and florist Kathy Wright brings in 1,000 fresh stems every Thursday to create the stunning lobby arrangement that greets every visitor (see photo above). If the smell of fresh flowers entices you, the Fairmont Grand Del Mar will satisfy you with their floral finesse.

There are, of course, many more reasons to visit the Fairmont Grand Del Mar, but these seven should be enough to get you thinking about your next vacation. For more information and to book a reservation, head over to the Fairmont Grand Del Mar website.

]]>https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/live-like-gatsby-fairmont-grand-del-mar/feed/264552Amazon Hack: Get Around the New Amazon Prime Price Increasehttps://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/amazon-hack-prime-price-increase/
https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/amazon-hack-prime-price-increase/#commentsFri, 27 Apr 2018 01:07:54 +0000https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/?p=64543Bad news for Amazon Prime fans: since 2014, you’ve been paying $99 a year for Prime but that price is about to jump to $119. That means you’ll be paying an extra twenty bucks for the same Prime services starting in the very near future. As of May 11th, new Prime members will be paying…

]]>Bad news for Amazon Prime fans: since 2014, you’ve been paying $99 a year for Prime but that price is about to jump to $119. That means you’ll be paying an extra twenty bucks for the same Prime services starting in the very near future. As of May 11th, new Prime members will be paying the increased fee. When the calendar hits June 16th, existing Prime members have to pay the higher rate. There’s a way around paying the extra bucks, though, and if you act quickly you can keep your price at $99 for at least the next year.

Here’s How You Save Money

There’s a loophole in the system. While you can’t change your renewal date or renew early, you CAN gift yourself Amazon Prime at the current price of $99/year. Amazon lets you set the date the gift will be sent and it doesn’t appear to be breaking any rules to gift Prime membership to yourself. So here’s what you do:

Check your renewal date by clicking “Accounts & Orders” then “Your Account” then the rectangle that says “Prime.” On the Amazon Prime screen, The renewal date is where it says “Next Payment” below:

Go back to the gifting page and go through the purchasing process for the full year membership at $99. Set the date the email will send to a day or two before your renewal date (make sure to turn off auto-renew or it’ll renew at the higher rate!).

Can You Do This Forever?

My guess is that you won’t be able to do this indefinitely. Right now, though, it does appear that you can send yourself a gift membership from any time now until the end of 2019. Since my renewal date is in October, that means I can do one $99 renewal in 2018 and another in 2019. That means I’m saving myself $40 by paying for the renewals right now. Not bad, right?

I actually went through this back in 2014 when the price jumped from $79 to $99 and it worked perfectly. Hopefully you’ll find the same success!

Also, just FYI, I get a referral credit when you click on my Amazon link, so thank you very much for that! Happy Priming, friends!

]]>https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/amazon-hack-prime-price-increase/feed/1664543This Class Wants You to Paint Airplane Foodhttps://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/airplane-food-painting-class/
https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/airplane-food-painting-class/#respondThu, 26 Apr 2018 16:15:58 +0000https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/?p=64539When was the last time you heard someone talk about airplane food as if it was a work of art? Probably never. While the best of premium cabin dining can measure up to some of the better restaurants on the ground, economy class food doesn’t really do much in the way of inspiring us. There’s…

]]>When was the last time you heard someone talk about airplane food as if it was a work of art? Probably never. While the best of premium cabin dining can measure up to some of the better restaurants on the ground, economy class food doesn’t really do much in the way of inspiring us. There’s just something about pre-packaged airplane food on a tray that doesn’t scream “art.”

If you’re in Indonesia, though, you can sit down for three hours and relive all of your memories of dry chicken breasts and tiny square salads at the Living Loving Studios “Airplane Food Painting Class” taught by Citra Marina. Head to Jakarta on May 12th and bring 475,000 Indonesian rupiah (roughly $34 in US dollars) to live out your watercoloring dreams. Just look at this beauty:

Here’s how Google Translate handled the Indonesian description of the class:

Not only exciting, at #LLclass this time you will get art supplies consisting of traveling watercolor kit, white gel pen and watercolor paper that you can take home later. In addition there will be a beautiful and nice tart of Bake of Art that will accompany you during the workshop.

This honestly sounds like a pretty fun way to spend a Saturday. Plus, you get dessert while you paint. What’s better than that? People have been painting still life portraits of fruit bowls for centuries. I would say there’s an argument to be made that a tray of airplane food is the fruit bowl of modern times. Mundane, sure, but an important part of the everyday lives of frequent flyers.

If art is about transforming our day-to-day into the sublime (and I believe it is), then I think this class is definitely on the right track. What do you think?

]]>https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/airplane-food-painting-class/feed/064539$15 for You, $5 for Them [sponsored]https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/15-5-sponsored/
https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/15-5-sponsored/#respondFri, 06 Apr 2018 22:14:53 +0000http://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/?p=64527Have you heard the good news? The Dosh referral bonus has risen! It used to be $5 and now it’s $15. Here’s How it Works: Download the Dosh app by clicking right… HERE! Sign up by uploading your credit card details. (Don’t worry, Dosh uses the same security to guard your CC data that credit…

Here’s How it Works:

Check the app for a nearby store offering Dosh back to you and buy something! You’ll get anywhere from 2% to 10% back from your purchase for doing nothing.

Collect your $5 bonus for linking a card and using the Dosh app for a purchase.

Send your unique referral link to all of your friends and family and get them to follow the same steps.

For every person that uses your link, you’ll get a whopping $15 and they’ll get the same $5 that you got when you first linked a card and bought something from a Dosh merchant.

Sound easy? That’s the point. Dosh wants this to be as easy as possible for everyone as they increase the number of Dosh users.

The Large-But-Still-Fine Print

If you want the $15 referral bonus, you need to act fast. This bonus is available from right now until April 13th at 12:00pm.

Your qualifying purchase needs to be in-person from a nearby store. No online offers count.

Your referral fee will get deposited into your Dosh Wallet after the person you refer makes their first in-store purchase.

So What’s the Catch?

There’s no catch. There’s no cap to the number of people you refer. There are some Doshers who have earned thousands and thousands of dollars doing this. If you need some extra cash, this is a great way to pay the bills (says the guy who’s trying to convince you to sign up and get the referral bonus!).

Use my link and you’ll get $5 for linking a card and making a purchase and I’ll get my $15 bonus. Then you start signing up friends and they’ll get $5 and you get the $15 bonus!

Now, DD can call them donut fries all they want, but these are churros. According to the International Doughnut Council, a group I just made up, any “fried dough formed into sticks and covered in cinnamon sugar” can be classified as a churro. I don’t care what you call them. I just want to taste them.

These “donut fries” are available in Boston for now, but I have to imagine they will be catching sugar-fueled fire any day now and expand to all Dunkin’ Donuts stores. Are you in Boston? Have you tasted these? I’m dying to know what they taste like. If you’ve had a chance to sample, please let me know in the comments below.

I do have a few questions about the Donut Fries:

Do they come with a dipping sauce?

How fresh are they fried?

Can you request a completely fresh batch? Everyone knows a fresh hot churro is 1000x better than a cold churro.

Did they market test “Donut Fries” and find that people preferred the name to “churro?”

How long until they introduce “Stuffed Donut Fries” with vanilla and chocolate cream on the inside?

As the weekend approaches, let us all be thankful that someone somewhere convinced the big wigs at Dunkin’ Donuts to sell churros disguised as Donut Fries. No matter what you call them, they sound delicious.

]]>https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/dunkin-donuts-churros-donut-fries/feed/064524How to Relive Your Favorite Vacationhttps://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/how-to-relive-your-favorite-vacation/
https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/how-to-relive-your-favorite-vacation/#respondFri, 30 Mar 2018 18:52:41 +0000http://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/?p=64512Think back to your favorite vacation. What do you remember? If you’re anything like me, it’s a specific moment. Even more likely, it’s a specific sensory experience: the smell of the plumeria as you walk through Kauai; the sound of the mosquitos along a river in Bali; the brilliant turquoise of the water in St.…

]]>Think back to your favorite vacation. What do you remember? If you’re anything like me, it’s a specific moment. Even more likely, it’s a specific sensory experience: the smell of the plumeria as you walk through Kauai; the sound of the mosquitos along a river in Bali; the brilliant turquoise of the water in St. Croix. There may be flowers, bugs, and water wherever you live, but your favorite vacation moments are locked in a single place and time. Look at photos and videos as much as you’d like, but you’ll never quite get back to that moment.

So how did I go back to Bologna last night when I was sitting in LA?

It’s all thanks to a magical tortelloni.

Let’s go back in time a bit, shall we? This past October, I was in Italy where pretty much every night consisted of wine, prosciutto, pasta, and gelato. It was the dolce vita I’d always dreamed about. The highlight of the entire trip for me was a lunch at the incomparable Chiarli property outside of Modena, where the Chiarli family has made sensational Lambrusco for over 150 years. We went thinking we were just going to get a tour, but we were welcomed in like family and treated to a multi-course lunch with a tasting of all of the lambruscos that Chiarli makes.

Now, the star of the show was a handmade tortelloni in a butter sage sauce. It was phenomenal. I mean, come on, just look at it. Wow. I’ve thought of that pasta often over the past few months.

Flash forward to last night in Los Angeles. We were celebrating my lady’s upcoming birthday at Rossoblu, a restaurant that celebrates all things Emilia-Romagna. The menu listed a tortelloni dish with swiss chard, ricotta, butter, sage, and parmigiano reggiano. Honestly, it didn’t even click at first. I just wanted to order it because it sounded good.

I took one bite, though, and my entire body was transported back to that long dining table in the Modena countryside, surrounded by friends new and old and more than a few glasses of lambrusco. The chew of the pasta, the balance of the ricotta and the greens in the filling, the richness of the butter surrounding it all… it was the perfect culinary clone.

I was back on vacation.

This is a true testament to Steve Samson’s pasta at Rossoblu. His tortelloni was a time machine. It perfectly replicated the way I felt when I was eating tortelloni with the Chiarlis. It was in the moment of that first bite that I realized that I had come across a major revelation: you can recreate your favorite vacations through taste alone.

Nothing will ever match the exact blue of the water or the sound of the waterfall, but a chef has the ability to place you right back in the moment of your favorite vacation. Whenever I need a taste of Emilia-Romagna from now on, I’m heading to Rossoblu. Now I just need to find more restaurants that can create culinary postcards to my favorite moments from all of my trips around the globe.

]]>https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/how-to-relive-your-favorite-vacation/feed/064512When $.13 Means So Much Morehttps://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/13-means-much/
https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/13-means-much/#respondFri, 23 Mar 2018 16:43:18 +0000http://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/?p=64505this is a sponsored post For the past year, I’ve been telling you about DOSH. It’s the cash-back app that gives you free money every time you use a linked credit card. Pretty much the “set it and forget it” version of the money-saving apps on the market. Anyway, I wanted to share my most…

For the past year, I’ve been telling you about DOSH. It’s the cash-back app that gives you free money every time you use a linked credit card. Pretty much the “set it and forget it” version of the money-saving apps on the market.

Anyway, I wanted to share my most recent Dosh experience because it’s a reminder of just how useful this app really is. Now, I’m not one to check the app to see if there are Dosh merchants around me just so I can save a dollar. I think that defeats the purpose of the app because the true value of Dosh over its competitors is that you never have to think about it. You just buy something and *wham* there’s your free money. That’s exactly what happened to me a few days ago.

I went to go pick something up at a supermarket in my neighborhood called Grocery Outlet. It’s a low-cost closeout marketplace and I’ve discovered they have REALLY CHEAP CANDY. As a sugar-addict, it’s dangerous to know it exists but the horse is out of the barn, so to speak, so I’ll occasionally stop in to see if they have anything interesting.

Fortunately for me/unfortunately for my glucose levels, I stopped in and saw that they were selling gummy sour SweetTarts for like $1.50 or something. The bags usually retail for $3 or more so this was a good score and I felt like I was already saving money. As I walked out of the store, I felt my phone buzz. Thinking it was a text, I checked it and found a notification from Dosh.

Now, I’m not sure why it says this was my “first Dosh offer” because I’ve been using the app for close to a year now, but I had to chuckle when I saw the $.13 reward. Obviously thirteen cents isn’t going to do very much for me. However, it’s thirteen more cents than I had before and I got it for literally doing nothing more than what I was doing anyway. I didn’t even know Grocery Outlet was a Dosh merchant.

That’s the beauty of Dosh. It gives back to you when you don’t even know it’s working on your behalf. If you want to have the experience for yourself, go ahead and download the Dosh app. You’ll get $5 once you link a card and I’ll get $5 for referring you. Then, you can invite all of your friends and collect their referral bonuses. The free cash never stops with Dosh!

]]>https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/13-means-much/feed/064505Save Big at Chili’s and Papa John’s Without Coupon Codeshttps://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/save-big-at-chilis-and-papa-johns-without-coupon-codes/
https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/save-big-at-chilis-and-papa-johns-without-coupon-codes/#respondTue, 27 Feb 2018 17:39:36 +0000http://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/?p=64489[This is a sponsored post.] If you’re a big fan of Chili’s (I am) and Papa John’s (I am not), this is pretty great news. My favorite cash-back app DOSH just added both Chili’s and Papa John’s to their roster and that means you can save money every single time you eat at either place…

If you’re a big fan of Chili’s (I am) and Papa John’s (I am not), this is pretty great news. My favorite cash-back app DOSH just added both Chili’s and Papa John’s to their roster and that means you can save money every single time you eat at either place just for linking a credit card. The Papa John’s offer is for 5% cash back, and can be used for in-store, carryout, and delivery (online) purchases. The Chili’s offer is for 7% cash back of your total bill. All you need to do is sign up for Dosh, link a credit card (or three), and watch the cash get deposited back in your account. No discount coupon codes needed!

The reason I like Dosh over the other cash-back apps out there (besides the fact that they’re sponsoring this post) is that it’s so, so easy. The only work you need to do is downloading the app and registering a credit card, which takes about five minutes total. Once your cards are registered, Dosh puts your savings directly back into your account and then you choose if you want to transfer it to your bank account or to a charity. It really couldn’t be easier.

Dosh is especially good for business travelers because any card you link — even the ones that get paid off by corporate — can be used to put cash back in your account! That means your boss can pay for your dinner on the road and you can pocket the Dosh! It even works with hotels (which give much higher rates of cash back than restaurants.

So go grab yourself some Chicken Crispers from Chili’s or a pepperoni pizza from Papa John’s. Every time you eat at either one, you’re going to get free money back in your pocket for doing next to nothing.

Sign up using my referral link and then use your own referral link to get free cash for every person you refer. You like free cash, right? I know I do.

]]>https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/save-big-at-chilis-and-papa-johns-without-coupon-codes/feed/064489The Secret to Getting Food and Liquids Through TSAhttps://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/the-secret-to-getting-food-through-tsa/
https://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/the-secret-to-getting-food-through-tsa/#commentsMon, 26 Feb 2018 19:23:03 +0000http://flyanddine.boardingarea.com/?p=64485I was going to let the whole Chrissy Teigen/Emotional Support Casserole story skate by without comment, but it made me think about how foods are classified by the TSA and why certain foods can get through while others are rejected and destined for the trash can. I went on a research mission and came back with…

]]>I was going to let the whole Chrissy Teigen/Emotional Support Casserole story skate by without comment, but it made me think about how foods are classified by the TSA and why certain foods can get through while others are rejected and destined for the trash can. I went on a research mission and came back with an amazing trick to get ANYTHING through TSA. More on that later…

To recap: Chrissy Teigen is a food-loving model who wanted to bring a casserole with her on a flight. She jokingly called it her Emotional Support Casserole and asked American Airlines via Twitter if she could bring it on to the plane with her:

If I don’t have a carry-on, can I bring a large ceramic casserole dish of scalloped potatoes on the plane? I am not kidding, is this okay? Is it too blunt/heavy an object? I’ll cry if they throw it away

American Airlines referred her to the @AskTSA Twitter account and they gave the all-clear. Teigan arrived to her destination with casserole in tow — a TSA success story.

So a casserole is fine for TSA, but what would happen if there was a sauce on top? Would that be considered part of the casserole or a separate ingredient subject to the 3.4oz liquid policy? I did some digging via the @AskTSA account and the TSA.gov “What Can I Bring” page and the results weren’t too surprising. If it’s a visible liquid, it has to be 3.4oz or less and in its own container. If the gravy is mixed in, you should be fine.

This line of inquiry led to a startling development: the TSA considers mashed potatoes to be liquid.

Sounds great! Please note that mashed potatoes are limited to containers 3.4oz or less in carry-on bags.

Meat, seafood, vegetables and other non-liquid food items are permitted in both carry-on and checked bags. If the food is packed with ice or ice packs in a cooler or other container, the ice or ice packs must be completely frozen when brought through screening. If the ice or ice packs are partially melted and have any liquid at the bottom of the container, they will not be permitted.

Frozen liquid items are allowed through the checkpoint as long as they are frozen solid when presented for screening. If frozen liquid items are partially melted, slushy, or have any liquid at the bottom of the container, they must meet 3-1-1 liquids requirements.

Now that’s a big new development! The TSA is explicitly saying that liquid won’t have to meet the 3.4oz requirement if it’s frozen. You can essentially take any volume of liquid with you as long as it’s completely 100% not thawing in any way.

The Bottom Line

If you need to transport liquids and they’re not under 3.4oz in total, you don’t have to think about alternate shipping options. All you need to do is make sure that it’s completely frozen. The easiest way to do this is to get a piece of dry ice (available at many grocery stores) and keep your items on the dry ice until you arrive at the airport. That should ensure the level of freeze needed to make it through a security line. Once you’re past security, it appears that you have nothing to worry about once your food or liquid starts to thaw.